Part Four
Later Dale woke, sniffed the air, removed his cloak, stretched and then jumped from the tree. Tsuki was seated on the ground beneath the tree making arrows. There was a remainder of a fire nearby with Ranger issue covered pot and pan. Tsuki seemed to have already crafted a crude bow. Dale stopped to the coals and lifted the lids; he found greens, fried fish flavored with herbs and some kind of stewed berries.
Tsuki gave him a darting glance as Dale put his finger into the berries to get a taste. That look said he was not most proud of what he had done to the berries and that he would do better next time if Dale did not mock his ability. Dale put the gooey mixture to his mouth. "Tastes better than some things I have eaten," Dale said, though Tsuki did not know of the foulest things he had eaten, it was not as much a compliment as Dale intended.
"I will pack, but do not rush to eat."
Dale sat, lifted the wooden spoon Tsuki had crafted and began shoveling berry into his mouth. He liked the way the different flavors mixed together. When the pot was empty, Dale wrapped the fish in greens to eat with his fingers. Something about that made Tsuki smile, though it seemed a very slight smile to Dale.
"Not civilized enough?"
"I will craft a pair of eating sticks for you next." Tsuki then stood and went about preparing his horse and carefully placing things in his pack. "The frog was quite interesting," he commented as he saw Dale finishing the greens. "I had only the oils within the creatures to cook them with, not easy to control the amounts, but I thought it best to retain the skin. I suppose the Rangers are adept at hunting and crafting spits over the fire? I was not sure the fish would hold on a spit after cleaning."
"I did notice...you removed the innards and even the bones."
"Do you think that is not the way? We have not had instruction on cooking in the wilderness, though they did issue us a pan and pot and cups."
"There is another month to go," Dale said, "Before I came to Stone Keep I had not dealt with Rangers specifically. Though...you might try rendering some animal fat and storing it for use through the remainder of a journey. I suppose that would be possible. You can make a crude soap if you add ash, though Elves would prefer non animal oils be used in their soap."
"There are nuts and beans and seeds that have oils, only the means to extract them are not easily crafted in the wilderness, or would be too heavy to travel with. One would need a press for that."
"Couldn't you wizard one?"
"I do understand the uses of simple machines, but as I said, the issue is whether it is practical for journeys such as this and can be carried."
"I'll wash these," Dale said. He went to the stream and rubbed the remainder of the food from the pot, pan and spoon.
Tsuki had packed the rest of his belongings and waited only for the cooking gear. "The training seems designed to prepare us for the worst of conditions, as in good times, Rangers might prepare all the supplies and gear they require at their fort before departure and stop in towns and cities to resupply."
"I think you are correct," Dale said as he returned. "That map was drawn to make our way difficult. A proper Elven map would have many more landmarks and notations regarding locations of fruit or nut bearing groves."
"I suppose then there is no point in devising ways to make ourselves more comfortable during these kinds of missions. Later we may have no need."
"But in the worst times, if such dark times could return, I should want to be able to get what I need when towns are short of supplies."
"In that case, perhaps we should tell each other what we each know of surviving and obtaining goods, as we have."
Dale gave the cooking gear to Tsuki and he put it into his pack, which he then tied to Moon-halo's saddle. Dale saw the arrows tied to a strap of the pack. "You carved points on them," he observed, "did you save the flint?"
"Yes, all you gave me."
"I could find a hammer rock and make flint arrowheads for you." Dale gathered his belongings and packed them on his horse.
"That seems a good idea."
Dale nodded. "I will seek out a rock tonight and tomorrow you may hunt if you wish."
"Tell me if there is anything you need."
"I will." Dale scanned the trees around them. "We left the path..."
"South from the stream," Tsuki said.
"Tsuki minded where he left the path," Dale sang. "Let's ride." At that, he vaulted to Nightmare's back. Dale wore his cloak with the hood covering his red hair. Tsuki mounted and checked the position of the sun to orient himself. He urged Moon-halo south.
"When your cloak was removed, I thought I saw your sword on your back."
"It is."
"How do you draw wearing your cloak so, or avoid chopping off all that hair?"
Dale drew, reaching beneath his cloak with his left hand, unfastening the strap that held the sword and catching the sword in that same hand as it fell to him. "Like that," he said. "I draw left and strike with the right, so if we meet trouble, you best stay at my back."
"I advise you the same; I may draw or strike with either hand."
Dale brought Nightmare to Moon-halo's left and kept pace with Tsuki. They fell into conversation again, more than they had when Dale had been scouting. At times, Dale even sang, though his kept his voice soft. Their speed was moderate, as they were in hilly country and did not want to tire the animals.
As they had agreed, Dale began telling Tsuki more of what he knew of survival in the wilderness, though he did not tell Tsuki of all his methods, only those he believed somewhat civilized. He said that he had come from east of the Great River with Gwindor at the war's end and before that had not traveled with another person, except during the time he had been with the Elves, who had traveled in parties.
Dale still called them 'Elves', not specifying them as Vale or Wood and so Tsuki understood him to mean that the Elves who had found him and named him were those living west of the river and whom did not occupy the wood. Tsuki had spoken to such Elves during his time as a mercenary, and he had had minor dealings with Wood Elves.
Dale and Tsuki exchanged stories of how they had spent their survival tests. Tsuki said that each time he had walked until he found a source of water and then looked for a means of shelter nearby and stayed in that place, only venturing out to seek food or materials to make tools.
Dale said that he always walked on those tests, and mentioned again that he even observed other students. Many did not walk, he said, but stayed in one place. He thought a better test was one such as their current mission, in which the recruit could not rely on a constant supply of any one thing. He confessed also that he left the fort at night.
"How to you gain entry again?" Tsuki asked.
"There is a section of wall that is not as well guarded, or if I know the guard, they may except a favor to let me in without a report."
"What manner of favor?"
"Favors," Dale sang.
They discussed the types of things they would be willing to eat and made a sort of game of it. "Would you eat...?" one would ask and continue with the name of something they imagined would be distasteful or very difficult to acquire.
"Grasshoppers are actually very healthy to eat," Dale said.
"Not live. I would not eat them live. Would you eat spiders?"
"Spiders of what size?"
Tsuki laughed. "The small ones do not look worth it and those that are large enough to be a meal I should not want to meet."
"Maybe, if I was very hungry and I had a fire to singe off the hair."
"You must jest!"
"Honey from a beehive?"
"I should like some honeycomb, for the wax as well as the honey. It is also good for wounds. Did you know? The honey keeps them from becoming infected."
"Infected?" Dale asked, "What do you mean by that term? Infected by what?"
"The invisible agents that cause swelling and pus and slow healing."
"Sounds like Wizardry," Dale sighed, "But perhaps Elven healers know this as well. They know of many natural substances that heal the body. I know many plants, mainly those which provide food, I have been learning of their medicinal properties in our instruction."
"Yes. I should be afraid to be stung by the bees. I understand that smoke lulls them, but I have not attempted to retrieve honeycombs on my own."
"Smoke?"
"I have heard that, yes."
"I know something of insects, though mainly those that I come across at night. I believe they sense life in a manner unlike us. They sense your breath. I think covering the face would also help."
"A few bees would not scare me, but a swarm...I do not wish to challenge a swarm of bees in their hive."
"Would you eat the dung of an animal?" Tsuki asked.
"No. What about a man?"
"Eat my own waste? No!"
"Eat the man."
"No."
"Orcs eat Men. They eat Elves too. And other Orcs."
"I do not wish to be like an Orc, do you?"
"No, I do not wish to be like them. What if you were on a tall mountain in the snow in winter and your companion was already dead from a fall but his body was kept fresh by the cold and there was no other food and you needed to survive to get a message to someone, perhaps a message that would save lives. Then, would you eat a Man?"
Tsuki thought of it. "I do not know. It seems a most foul thing to do. Perhaps I might first grow somewhat mad from being alone on the mountain and then do it, but I should not feel right afterward. I think if I survived to deliver the message I should want to die at that time, knowing what I did."
"Yes, me too. I should not feel right about eating a Man or an Elf." Dale laughed then and sounded mad.
Tsuki changed the subject of their discussion. "The sun is setting and the stars are not yet visible. I have marked a rise in the land as east, but after we head toward there, I am not certain I can orient our course south again."
"Let's ride east now and if the stars are not yet out when you judge it time to turn, then we can have a short rest."
They rode on toward the rise Tsuki had marked and then stopped. The land was still hilly and now was more lightly wooded. There were grasses growing, so they dismounted and let the horses graze. The stars were not visible, but Tsuki could see the moon. It was waning now, but without Wizard tomes, its position told him nothing of the direction.
"I will plot a course soon. I am going to go use my leaves."
Tsuki agreed with a nod.
"If you feel you must relieve yourself, do not mark the trunk of a tree, it is not wise. Make a pile of loose leaves or grass to mark."
"Yes," Tsuki said, but he was not certain why it was not wise to use a tree. He felt his body did need to pass water, so he walked in the direction opposite Dale and kicked some leaves into a pile.
Tsuki returned to the horses and soon Dale also returned. Dale said that he would go up a tree to get a good view of the sky. He spent several minutes in the tree. As Tsuki looked up, he saw two blackbirds alight on a branch below Dale.
It was too strange a coincidence. "Do the birds belong to you?" Tsuki called.
"After a fashion," Dale answered. He turned and climbed back down. "The stars are coming out. Do you know there is a star there," he pointed, "It is always at the north and does not appear to move as others do."
"Yes. My Master allowed me into his observatory, but even if I should know north in the night, I cannot see the ground...perhaps if it were a full moon."
"Yes, so I will guide, but it is good you can at least find north."
It was true, Tsuki thought, but he had not thought to use the knowledge when he had his lodestone and iron bear pendant.
"I have read the other stars, so I know where east lays quite accurately as well. Ride close, on my right as before. I will keep us moving until you say you must rest or there is danger." To Tsuki, Dale's tone seemed urgent. Perhaps he felt pressed. Dale was accustomed to traveling at night, because he could not bear the things that worked by night to find him in such a vulnerable condition as sleep.
Dale could survive quite well at night, but he did not necessarily enjoy the night. He should have liked to find a Man town and spend the night in a tavern. He had been nearly like fit company some years now, but being among his caretakers or the Rangers he had not had the chance so often as he would like. Men found him entertaining and beautiful and they did not look horrified whenever they saw him.
As promised, Dale did not stop their ride. He warned Tsuki when he would change course or when there was an obstacle the horse must slow to maneuver past, but he did not attempt to make conversation.
Time came that Tsuki felt he was falling asleep on his horse. "Dale, he called, "Do the stars tell you the time?"
"Less than four hours until dawn. Perhaps, three hours until dawn."
"It is very late. We should stop, unless..."
"Of course. You woke at dawn and we did a lot of walking and riding today. Yes. You should sleep. Just a little farther; I will see if there is anywhere more sheltered." They had been riding without stop since nightfall.
Dale danced Nightmare around, surveying the terrain such as he could in low light. The land was becoming more open. The moon at this time provided little light. "You can make a bed beneath this pine and I will tie the horses to a branch. Can you see?"
Tsuki could see little, but riding all night had made his eyes more accustomed to the darkness. "I can make out the shape of the tree."
Dale dropped lightly from his horse and offered Tsuki a hand, to help him to the ground. Tsuki grasped his arm and then loosed it to walk toward the tree. "Do you need anything from your pack?"
"I need only sleep. I will lay in my cloak. You may wake me in a few hours."
"Not 'til dawn. I should have thought to stop sooner. I said you could have asked."
"In the morrow, Dale," Tsuki said, "we might make our stops at midday and midnight."
"Yes. That is a good plan. Sleep now. I will keep watch and care for the horses. I will even find breakfast."
Tsuki removed his sash, wrapped his cloak around his body and lay in the thick mat of pine needles beneath the tree with his hand on his swords.
Dale called to Tsuki to wake him shortly after dawn. Tsuki woke, finding it was morning; his swords were at his side and Dale was seated beneath the tree whittling. "What are you crafting."
"Nothing that is finished. I fixed your bow and arrows, found some food and made a small fire."
"The bow?" Tsuki asked, still half asleep, "What was wrong with it?"
"I strung it with hair, I twisted together some of my hair and some hairs from Nightmare's tail. The bow works better now."
"Thank you. Did you say there was breakfast?"
"I did not cook yet, as I did not want your food to get cold before you woke. And I was still using the pot to catch dew."
"How?"
Dale pointed out the device, it was a scrap of tent fabric propped on four sticks above a hollow in the ground, in which the pot was set.
"That seems a bit Wizard-like for you? To use devices."
"Elves know this. They like to drink dew in the morning. Would you like some?"
Tsuki gave a nod and surveyed the place they had come upon in the night. The horses were tied to the tree. Their packs and Moon-halo's saddle were near Tsuki's feet with the bow and arrows. The fire was set away from the tree, as was Dale's collector.
Dale brought two Ranger issue metal cups back to the shelter of the tree. Tsuki took his cup and drank. The dew, or water which had condensed from the vapor in the air, tasted clean and good.
"I have a few eggs, some nuts, various edible plants and if you take your bow over that way, there is an old rabbit who had bred many times and wishes to die honorably. He will not run fast, so you should be able to shoot him, even without having a good feel for that bow."
Tsuki did not believe that the animal had informed Dale of these things, but he took up the bow and several arrows and walked slowly in the direction Dale had indicated. A brown rabbit hopped from the grass and ran across Tsuki's path. He set an arrow in the bow, aimed, accounting for the animal's movement of course, and loosed the arrow. It flew and hit the rabbit as it was leaping from the grass again. It seemed almost as if the rabbit had leapt to meet the arrow.
"Please make sure he is dead. I promised him little suffering."
Tsuki walked toward the place the rabbit had fallen. It was on its side and an eye still looked up at him. Tsuki lifted the animal and broke its neck with his hands. He then removed the arrow and carried the carcass to the fire. "It is not so sporting when they jump into the path of the arrow."
"If you wish sport, mark a target on some dead wood, if you wish breakfast, take what is offered gratefully."
Tsuki shrugged. "Thank you Brother Rabbit for your life."
Dale laughed. He had the pan over the fire and was cooking a mixture of eggs, dew and herbs. "Should we cook him now? Stewing or roasting will take some time."
"Hang him to bleed, we can prepare him at midday."
"I suppose the blood could be used in a sauce."
"Elves do not use the blood. Elves have strict dietary rules. Go hang him somewhere."
Dale's tone said Tsuki should not question him.
When the thin cake of egg was cooked through, Dale split it, placed berries on each half and wrapped the berries. When Tsuki had eaten his portion, he said that it was very good.
They made certain their fire was out and the coals damp and buried, packed the things and rode east from the place they had camped. Again, Dale was entirely lucid during the day and somewhat playful. When it was light, Tsuki directed the course and Dale scouted. Old Rabbit hung from Moon-halo's saddle until midday, when they stopped on open ground to rest.
Dale borrowed Tsuki's cloak to sleep, because it happened to be somewhat more green in color, while Dale had been issued a cloak that was somewhat grey. They were in grass and, if Dale was to sleep, he wished to be camouflaged. Tsuki cleared ground for a fire, and crafted a spit from wood they had collected along the way. He skinned Old Rabbit and removed his fat and the roasted the animal that had given his life so they might eat.
While Old Rabbit roasted, Tsuki checked their inventory. Dale's cloak had many pockets, he had pointed this out to Tsuki voluntarily when they had exchanged cloaks. Dale had cut up one of the two jackets he had been issued and sewn the patches inside his cloak. He said other recruits had done the same and that after survival training, their pockets had been searched, but no one had complained about the extra pockets.
Dale had hidden many things, but none that would have been very useful to Tsuki. Rather they seemed things Dale had either smuggled out from hiding places in the fort or else collected along the way against a time when supplies were not easily found.
When Dale woke, they ate the meat of Old Rabbit. They reserved the remaining scraps of meat and bones to make the base of a soup when they stopped at midnight.
In the afternoon, they came across a beehive. They stopped to make a fire that could light a torch to smoke the bees. They tied scarves over their faces; Dale held the torch and Tsuki used his sword to slice open the hive. They had a few stings, but managed to retrieve a large section of honeycomb, which Dale put into a piece of oilcloth from one of his pockets.
Dale led when it grew dark. He seemed quiet, but stable. At midnight they stopped, near an outcropping of rock. They ate a few nuts with honey and drank water and then Tsuki slept near the rock, covered in Dale's cloak, which better camouflaged him. Dale minded the soup made of the rabbit carcass, a few roots, some herbs and water, and used the cooking gear to render a crude soap as well.
Dale woke Tsuki and they ate the soup. Retained the clean bones of Old Rabbit, should they be able to fashion something out of them. They packed again and rode on until dawn. They had been gone two days from the fort and had covered a fair distance in riding over open ground. They ate some nuts and honey and checked the map again. "We should roast them," Tsuki said.
"Who?"
"The nuts. Roast them in the pan with honey. They would keep quite well."
"Less sticky when eating," Dale said, and then sucked on his fingers.
"Can you see anything? The only landmarks are some woods on the opposite side of the river and the road. We would have known if we crossed the road."
"Yes. I think we should head south. I see something, perhaps the houses of some outlying farms. It is still too distant for me to make out, but riding we should see soon what is there."
They rode south and eventually did come to a farmhouse. They saw a few people working, and announced that they were Rangers just passing by. Less than an hour later, they reached the road and the bridge was in sight. It was a covered bridge, with a guardhouse built over it. As Dale and Tsuki rode to the bridge the Rangers of the guardhouse called to them from a window above.
Looking up, they could see there were archers in the guardhouse, and they supposed there were arrow slits aimed down at the bridge as well as windows on the other side of the river and they would find this was so.
"Announce yourselves," the Men called.
Dale spoke, using Common Speech, "We are Rangers from the fort of Stone Keep bearing a message for Lord Duinhir. We are told he is a Ranger of River Forge. Do you know where we may find him?"
"You will find him in the fort inside the town across the river. Ride on."
The fort of River Forge was constructed of a henge of wooden posts and surrounding earthworks that sheltered the Ranger post. Outside the wall was a town, large enough to have some stone-paved roads and its own mayor. It was along a major east-west trade road and had a variety of shops and two inns.
Dale and Tsuki walked through the town, leading their horses and noting the busy shops. They came to the west gate of the fort and were challenged again to announce their intent. Dale explain their purpose again.
"Was it a hard journey? How long did it take this time?" an Elf called from the gate, in seemingly jovial manner.
Dale sighed, understanding that they were being tested.
"It is not a hard journey for us. We were traveling two days, sometimes on horseback. We do not know how long it takes others, but we have never made the journey before."
"Two days is good time, though there are Rangers who make it on one when on horseback."
"Well, then I imagine we are better rested and fed than they. We were not told our message should be brought with the speed one sends enemy positions," Dale laughed.
The gate was opened and Rangers came to meet them, in similar clothing
to their own, boots, fitted pants and jackets of colors that would provide
camouflage in a range of natural environments. One Ranger informed them
that their horses would be led to the trough behind the stable until they
knew whether they would be staying and required boarding for the horses.
Another bade them follow to the office of their commander, Lord Duinhir.